MTV's reality TV juggernaut The Challenge has had nearly 40 seasons, and the series loves to bring back the same contestants to compete over and over again. Thus, many players who have a knack for the game have won one if not multiple seasons of the show. However, not every great player becomes a champ.
There are plenty of competitors on The Challenge who have what it takes to win and have come very close to doing so, but for whatever reason, still haven't managed to score first place in a final.
Nelson Thomas
Like many great Challenge players who have never pulled out the win, Nelson Thomas is a really strong but not completely well-rounded player. He's an enormous physical threat, as he has nearly beaten Fessy in a Hall Brawl despite the fact that Fessy massively outsizes him.
And as his elimination draw against Darrell demonstrated, he doesn't know how to give up. However, puzzles will never be his strong suit, and honestly, one reason why he likely hasn't won is that he's so ferociously loyal to his friends that he'll often sacrifice his own game for them.
Jenna Compono
There's a reason that Jenna Compono has earned the nickname "Barbie Beast". While she has never been the dominant alpha player that many of The Challenge's toughest stars have become, her easygoing attitude hides what a shockingly talented competitor she is.
In eight seasons on The Challenge so far, she has managed to make it to three finals, and that's despite the fact that she was often paired with unskilled partners or was competing against some of the best competition in the game.
Natalie "Ninja" Duran
It might seem like a slight overstatement to say that Ninja Natalie is one of the best Challenge players who hasn't won a final given that she has only been on two seasons of the show thus far.
But in those two seasons, she demonstrated that she was an extremely tough competitor, and in both of her appearances on the series, she made it to the final. Getting to any final is not easy, so the fact that she already has a 100% success rate in that category makes it seem like a final win would have been inevitable if she continued on The Challenge.
Devin Walker
He is never going to be the biggest physical threat in any season and he knows it, but Devin is really one of the best strategizers in The Challenge today.
He's not afraid to go against intimidating players and he doesn't let anyone else run his game for him, and he definitely knows how to psych out and manipulate a lot of his fellow competitors. He's known as the new Wes for a reason, and unless he quits soon, it seems like he has a good shot at a future championship.
Kyle Christie
Kyle has unfortunately caught a reputation for being a snake in the game despite the fact that he's pretty much just as conniving and manipulative as any other Challenge player. But, his social game is pretty killer, and he doesn't really have a particular weakness in the game.
Not to mention, he has zero quit in him, which can actually get players a lot further than some might think. People also underestimate the threat that he poses, so it's entirely possible that he might make a final or even win in the future.
Tori Deal
Tori is an undeniably solid Challenge player who, even in the toughest playing field, is pretty much guaranteed to be in the top third of players in every season. And she has come close to winning quite a few times, but has always fallen a bit short.
She's a great physical competitor with a good social game, but her biggest weakness seems to be that she simply doesn't always perform well under pressure and has some trouble strategizing on the fly.
Cory Wharton
Many players who are greats but haven't actually become champions have specific weaknesses that have prevented them from taking the gold, and Cory is no different. Cory is a strong physical player to be sure, but his political game and puzzle-solving skills have been a consistent problem for him.
Thankfully he has learned to stop making himself a target by openly going after the big competitors, but unless he beefs up his problem-solving skills (or winds up with a great puzzle-solving teammate) he'll have a tough time winning.
Kam Williams
Kam is a rare competitor who has appeared on quite a few seasons of The Challenge and has managed to make it to the final more often than she hasn't. But, her knack for kicking ass in eliminations undoubtedly has something to do with it.
Like every great challenger, she is good or at least decent at pretty much everything (she's called Killa Kam for a reason), and Kam is one of the best strategists in The Challenge. Her lack of a win seems to come down to chance more than anything, and if she keeps going she's almost certainly a future winner.
Aneesa Ferreira
Despite the fact that she is a consistently strong performer in daily challenges and a pretty great elimination threat as well, Aneesa is still signifcantly underestimated as a player. She has an unfortunate habit of making it very far into a season and being beaten right before a final, but it's pretty rare that she's out of any game early.
Given that most finals in the current era of The Challenge are marathons it seems unlikely that Aneesa will ever pull out a win, but she's actually one of the most well-rounded competitors in the series.
Leroy Garrett
Leroy has officially retired from The Challenge, and it's a borderline miracle that he somehow never won any season. He's a really strong physical player, his social game is fantastic, and he's pretty clever. Not to mention, he made it to five different finals.
Considering that he was DQ'd in Battle of the Bloodlines and Rivals III, he basically had a 50/50 record of making it to the end of each season he appeared on. Although The Challenge is far from over, Leroy just might go down in Challenge history as the greatest player to never win a challenge.